January 24, 2010

 1 Corinthians 3

  Will Your Work Survive The Fire?

1 Corinthians

Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn't talk to you as I would to mature Christians.  I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life.  I had to feed you with milk and not with solid food, because you couldn't handle anything stronger.  And you still aren't ready, for you are still controlled by your own sinful desires.  You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other.  Doesn't that prove you are controlled by your own desires?  You are acting like people who don't belong to the Lord.  When one of you says, "I am a follower of Paul," and another says, "I prefer Apollos," aren't you acting like those who are not Christians?

Who is Apollos, and who is Paul, that we should be the cause of such quarrels?  Why, we're only servants.  Through us God caused you to believe.  Each of us did the work the Lord gave us.  My job was to plant the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God, not we, who made it grow.  The ones who do the planting or watering aren't important, but God is important because he is the one who makes the seed grow.  The one who plants and the one who waters work as a team with the same purpose.  Yet they will be rewarded individually, according to their own hard work.  We work together as partners who belong to God.  You are God's field, God's building--not ours.

Because of God's special favor to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder.  Now others are building on it.  But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful.  For no one can lay any other foundation than the one we already have--Jesus Christ.  Now anyone who builds on that foundation may use gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw.  But there is going to come a time of testing at the judgment day to see what kind of work each bulder has done.  Everyone's work will be put through the fire to see whether or not it keeps its value.  If the world survives the fire, that builder will receive a reward.  But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss.  The builders themselves will be saved, but like someone escaping through a wall of flames.

Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?  God will bring ruin upon anyone who ruins this temple.  For God's temple is holy, and you Christians are that temple.

Stop fooling yourselves.  If you think you are wise by this worlds' standards, you will have to become a fool so you can become wise by God's standards.  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God.  As the Scriptures say,

"God catches those who think they are wise in their own cleverness."

And again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are worthless."

So don't take pride in following a particular leader.  Everything belongs to you:  Paul and Apollos and Peter; the whole world and life and death; the present and the future. Everything belongs to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

***

Thoughts...

Wow...this is a lot to process.  Good morning!  I hope the new year is finding everyone treating each other with God's love and respect. 

Christian...let's look at that word.  It defines a follower of Jesus Christ.  The action is following Christ.  Are you a follower of Jesus Christ?  Have you accepted him as your Savior?  Have you made him Lord of your life?  See the prayer above if you have not and pray it today or one like it to accept him into your life today.

As I look at the first paragraph, I am reminded of when I first became a Christian.  I was very young.  I didn't understand some of the scripture.  Sometimes it felt like I was reading Greek, when all I was trying to do was keep the 'thees and thous' straight in the 'King's English'.  I'm an American born and bred.   Yes, I have roots, but I never learned to speak anything other than Amercan English.  I remember reading about the Holy Spirit and wondering who he was.  I grasped God and Jesus, but I couldn't quite figure out, tho' I yearned for Holy Spirit, who he was exactly.  What his function was.  I knew he was important, I knew I wanted him in my life like God and Jesus, but I couldn't figure out his placement....even tho' I knew he was part of the Trinity.  I knew he would be important in my life.  So I read and read and read the Bible.  I learned the basics of what was being said.  I could apply scriptures to my life.  How to live life right.  But there was still something missing.  I couldn't get to the meat of the matter. 

I had only been baptised as an infant at that point.  Then I was confirmed.  I became a bride for Christ.  Even people at my confirmation said I looked like a little bride.  That was what I wanted.  I wanted to be a bride to Christ.  I only wanted him in my life to love and to serve.  I was 12 or 13.  I wanted to run to his arms and be embraced always.  But I still wasn't getting who Holy Spirit was....tho' out of obedience I worshipped him.  And I continued to read and pray and seek answers.

Years later, I was with a dear friend of my Mother's.  My Mother had died, and I had gone to her for refreshement and comfort, as I would have gone to  my Mother had she been alive.  I was newly married, and my dog had just died, too.  Fran was a Catholic and I had been raised Episcopalian.  I talked with Fran about the Lord and my love for him.  She asked me if I had ever been baptised by the Holy Spirit.  Bink!  Lightbulb.  Holy Spirit!  There he was again.  I didn't fully understand, but I said that I had not been baptized by the Holy Spirit to my knowledge.  She asked if she could pray with me.  Of course......what Christian doesn't want to pray???!!!  Then she asked me if I wanted to be baptised with the Holy Spirit.  (Matthew 3: 12; Acts 1:5; Mark 16: 16-18; John 3: 5-8))  I'm like, I guess so.  Not knowing what to expect, we just prayed.  She asked the Holy Spirit to come into my life and fill me to overflowing with all the fruits and the gifts he had to give me.  I don't remember the exact prayer at this point, all these years later, but that was the gist of it.  So we prayed and she asked me if I felt any different.  I said I guessed so, but honestly, I didn't feel different.  We chatted further and I left.  That was in 1976.  

HOLY TOLEDO.  What a difference that made in my life.  On my way home, I passed a field of horses.  I started singing the Hallelujah/Alleluia (my childhood Choir teacher will chastise me for not remembering the accurate spelling, if she reads this) chorus from Handel, rolled down my windows and sang to the horses at the top of my lungs (I'm a pretty good singer...I knew I wasn't scaring the horses) and the horses looked up and started running around the field, and jumping up and down, and bowing down, and they were all excited.  They got Spirit filled, too!  I'm convinced!  I felt like a door had opened on a new life for me.  I was so excited, so over-joyed.  I went home that night and started talking a mile a minute to my then husband and telling him if he didn't accept the Lord and get baptised, that Satan would set a wedge between us and blah blah blah.  I couldn't slow down.  I was a like a semi on a steep grade downhill in speed, but up hill in Spirit.  Then I finally decided I needed to go to bed.  I started praying...still a mile a minute.  By the time my husband came out of the bathroom, I was speaking 'gibberish'....I'd received the gift of speaking in tongues.  And was I on fire for the Lord.  And boy howdy did Satan set a wedge, because my then husband would not receive the Lord or Holy Spirit.  But oh, my gosh, the scriptures were opened and I understood everything.  The milk, the meat, the dessert, I felt so blessed.  It did help to have a New Living Translation Bible, but I had had that for a while and I wasn't getting the meat and the desert.  I came alive in God, Christ and Holy Spirit.  If I thought I had had problems before, I had not counted right. 

I wondered which church to go to.  I wanted what Fran's church taught, but she told me to bloom where I was planted.  Was that in my home church?  She also said that God would show me if I was to go to another church.  I went to my home church.  God and Jesus were there and Holy Spirit was there, but only because Holy Spirit was in me.  

I started looking for a church where I could be fed.  Where the gospel of Jesus Christ and his word would reign supreme.  I didn't know which church was right.  Since then, I have entered many Christian churches regardless of the church name or religious affiliation.  I've bowed down and jumped up.  Prayed on my knees and with hands raised.  Taken the Lord's Supper and Holy Communion once a day and once a month.  I was on a personal journey to become a ministerial leader...a Pastor.  And what I learned is that everyone thinks they are the only one true church.  What I have come to know is that we are all supposed to just be Christians worshipping the Trinity with our whole heart.  It does not matter how you practice that, express that, as long as you are doing it (!) according to the scriptures and that you understand and follow the basics.  God created, Jesus died and rose again, Holy Spirit enters.  Obviously there is more to Christianity than a simple sentence outlining the leaders.  You must believe in them.....accept them into your life fully.  You must believe that Jesus was born for /you/us to save you/us.  You must believe that he died on a cross for all of us to forgive us our sins and offer us eternal life.  And according to  John 3: 5 Jesus said, "The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit."  Accept the Trinity...Father God, Lord and Savior Jesus, Comforter and Teacher Holy Spirit. 

Don't argue whether your church is the one true church.  Be glad that you have the opportunity to worship the ever living, ever loving Lord of Lord and King of Kings, His Majesty, Mighty Savior, El Shaddai.  Be honored to be able to share who he is, that he is, and how wonderful he is to the world.  And DO share him with the world.  That is why we are all here....to share the gospel message...and bring him glory.  And lest you think you were not called....ALL are called to be ministers of Christ.  Plant the seeds, water the seeds, but get out of God's way so he can make the seed grow.  

Do not think that you can just say, 'ya, I accepted Jesus and my Lord and Savior" and go on.  The subjects under a Lord bow down and work for their Lord.  They obey him.  They respect him.  They go forth doing for him with gratitude for what he has given them, and want to give back to him.  So what if he saved you.  Do you think he cannot take you out?  No?  Beep.  Wrong.  If you become a weed in that garden of his, he will whip you out with a scythe faster than you can say 'I'm sorry'.  You won't survive the threshing floor.  A fruiful plant grows and produces more fruit.  Who have you told about Jesus?  Would those you told believe who he is as evidenced by the life you live?  What is your testimony?  Oh.....not looking up much are you?  Oh woops.  Better start bowing down and looking up.  Things not going well?  Either you are not doing what you are supposed to be doing, or Satan knows you are a powerhouse for the Lord and he is trying to take you out to keep you from pointing others to Christ.  Will you succomb to the negatives or arise with the positives.  Will your work show value and withstand the heat of the fire of God?   We read above, "But there is going to come a time of testing at the judgment day to see what kind of work each bulder has done.  Everyone's work will be put through the fire to see whether or not it keeps its value.  If the world survives the fire, that builder will receive a reward.  But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss.  The builders themselves will be saved, but like someone escaping through a wall of flames."  Dude....Dudette....check it out.  Is this what you want to go through?  Wouldn't you rather be assured of your end times?  I tell people 'do not worry about the end times...worry about your end time'.  Get right with God, Jesus and Holy Spirit.  Do their thing not your thing.  And do it for their glory, not yours. 

I know this is longer than usual today, folks, but just a few more points and we can call it a wrap.  Normally I would not give you this much to process, but you can always review it again, to absorb more, much like when you pick up the scriptures.  You can be given a scripture time and time again and apply it to your life differently each time showing how deep and how wide God's word and his love is.           

In regards to your temple...your body....your soul that God and Jesus and Holy Spirit live in, please, please, please consider the choices you make in life.  Do not take on anything or anyone that is not of God.  If it or they are not of God, it or they are of Satan.  You defile the temple of God when you do so.  God can NOT inhabit what Satan is inhabiting.  And don't let Satan keep "knock knock knockin' on Heaven's door."  Sometimes I wonder what people think with the folks they choose to keep company with.  It is perfectly okay to eat, and reach out to, in Christ's name, and with Christ, the folks that you might not ordinarily hang with per se'.  Jesus did it and rebuked those telling him not to.  But he was not bedding them, or having a relationship with them other than to embrace them in his Father's name with the hope of leaving them with a testimony and bring them to him.  We worship with many, we don't need to carry on with them, marry them, or live in sin with them.  Make better choices folks.  It amazes me how many people in the name of God, say they love and worship him, and go to church, and are in inappropriate relationships.  Get right and get it right.

The other thing that comes to mind with regards to the temple is that Satan is attempting, and rather successfully at that, to turn people back to practicing in the way of the Old Testament.  Christians are literally going to temples and practing their faith with the Jews.  Some may think they are starting out to help teach the Jews that Jesus is for them.  You've got to be very strongly girded to do that.  But what is happening more often than not, is that Satan is allowing our Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus to be fooled into believing that God has sent them there to worship God.  Dear Family....Jesus is NOT in the temples of the Jews. They do not believe in him.  Yes, they believe in God, but they do NOT accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  They may accept his coming, but only as a regular poor man born on the earth.   Are you worshiping in a Messianic Church?  Do they truly know the Christ you know and serve?  Are you there to teach?  If you have not been called to teach them, then I suggest you stay home so you can be built up.  If you want a more worshipful experience with Christians, begin to raise up worship in your home church.  If they are not comfortable with some of the traditions that were carried over from Judaism, then find a church...like a mainline church...that does practice the traditions.  Some would be Catholic, Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopalian...to name a few.  They believe in and worship the Trinity and most have charistmatic services...a title referring to Holy Spirit in evidence.  Make sure Holy Spirit is in the house.  The scriptures above warn us:  "Stop fooling yourselves.  If you think you are wise by this worlds' standards, you will have to become a fool so you can become wise by God's standards.  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God.  As the Scriptures say, "God catches those who think they are wise in their own cleverness."  And again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are worthless."

Thanks for bearing with me this morning....I've never gone so long or presented so many facts as I have this morning, and I appreciate that you are respecting God in the house this morning.

Lastly, I want to say be careful that you are not making of your Pastor or Minister, or girlfriend or boyfriend, spouse or significant other A God.  Sometimes I see worship that is mis-placed.  With every excuse in the book to maintain that relationship or status.   Back up.  Re-think this.  As Jesus approached Nazareth he said, "Here is an honest man--a true son of Israel."    And Nathanael asked, "How do you know about me?"  Jesus replied, "I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you."  Do you honestly think you are hiding your actions from the Triune God?  Do you honestly think that God does not see what you are doing and who you are perhaps really worshipping other than him?  There is only one God...and you should not have any false gods before him.  And what about your other choices in life?  My Brothers and Sisters, make better choices.  And help those around you to do the same.  Don't become their Holy Spirit.  Don't think you can just jump in there and tell them what to do and when to do it.  Get rid of the speck in your own eye first.  But, if you are a Christian, and you see a Brother or Sister erring, guide them by the right path by reminding them of what GOD calls them...all of us...to do by the scriptures.  Look up.  Bow down.  Raise your hands in praise.   However you worship the Trinity, start with a proper foundation.  Then go forward.  Will you boof?  Ya.  Will he forgive you?  Ya.  But we are told to not keep doing the same sin over and over or then we can be kicked out.  Will your work suvive the fire?  Pray earnestly, listen intently and follow through obediently.  Go forth in the name of God.  Have a blessed life.

***

Let Us Pray

God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit thank you for all your words today.  Help me to absorb all of them to know how to better love you, and serve you, and share you with others.  Help me to worship you as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.  As my Lord and Savior.  Bring Holy Spirit into my life and baptise me with the fullness of all he has to give me...fill me to overflowing that I might be able to go forth praising you, knowing that I can have every opportunity to see you and be embraced by you some day in heaven.  I love you and I thank you.  Amen. 

***

  Benediction...Blessing

Let us hear from Paul as he prays:  

When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.  I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resouces he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit.  And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him.  May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love.  And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it.  Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now glory be to God!  By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope.  May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages.  Amen.  Ephesians 3:14-21 NLT         

*** 

Scroll down to read Jesus' Prayer of Thanksgiving...'The Unforced Rythms of Grace'.

***

Definition of a Christian:  Anyone who believes in God, Jesus and Holy Spirit, and accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Regardless of church name or religious affiliation.  

***

***

If you feel that the Church of the Holy Spirit has inspired or helped you, we'd like you to prayerfully consider tithing regulary to us or gifting us, so that we can further the work and carry out the will of the Father as proclaimed in Matthew 28:16 NLT

 to

 "Go and make disciples out of all the nations

baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.  And be sure of this:

I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

***

  Our Current Cause

My family and I, and the church, are in crisis and could desperately use your prayers and financial support.  Due to medical concerns, employment crisis, and economic devastation,  I do not have funding to meet everyday expenses right now for the church, or family, and home, nor those necessary to keep this website afloat, for those shut-in or needing spiritual support, nor the ability to help others along the way.  But I am confident that, with your help, balance can be achieved.  As God touches your heart, I hope you will pray earnestly for this church, my family and me, and send any amount of money you can to help.  Please note 'Church and Family' on your check or money order, and, I will see that all funds get divided appropriately.  The church, I and my family, as well as to those to whom we reach out, will be sincerely grateful for anything you can do to help.  

Please accept my sincerest thanks....and may God bless you!

***

 Checks or money orders can be made out to

Church of the Holy Spirit

and sent to

Church of the Holy Spirit

P.O. Box 86076

Tucson, Arizona

85754-6076

If you have any questions, we can be reached at:

1-866-402-GIFT

10 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Mountain Time

or

TrinityMissions@msn.com

As we grow, you will have options for allocating your gifts.

In the meantime, we hope you will trust us to direct them to where the need is the greatest.

  ***

    One last thing....

 Jesus' Prayer of Thanksgiving

'The Unforced Rythms of Grace'

 "Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer:  "Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth.  You've concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people.  Yes, Father, that's the way you like to work."

Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly.  "The Father has given me all these things to do and say.  This is a unique Father - Son operation, coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge.  No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does.  But I'm not keeping it to myself; I'm ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen."

"Are you tired?  Worn out?  Burned out on religion?  Come to me.  Get away with me and you'll recover your life.  I'll show you how to take a real rest.  Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it.  Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.  I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn how to live freely and lightly.

  Matthew 11:  25-30

  The Message

And the people said,

"Amen."

***

***

I now write most prayers in the position of ' I ' (first person) because most people are sitting at their computer alone, not in groups, and it allows those reading and praying to personalize the prayer as coming from them going to God.  Variations may appear on holidays when families may wish to use the prayer provided.

***

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189.  All rights reserved.

 *